Get the whole family involved in cooking this easy Mother’s Day breakfast

There is nothing more precious than seeing your children’s gleaming faces on Mother’s Day morning as they proudly present you with a heartfelt and delightful breakfast. As the recipient of this well-meaning gesture, aside from the love and pride you feel as you gaze upon your adoring children, the real thought that inevitable pops into your head is: Yikes, what disaster awaits me in the kitchen?!

This Mother’s Day, to help keep damage control at a minimum in the kitchen, I thought of an easy yet delicious breakfast that the whole family will enjoy—and that doesn’t create an overwhelming amount of kitchen cleanup. I have dubbed this breakfast treat Papa’s Fabulous French Toast.

My dad, aka “Papa” to his grandchildren and now great-grandchildren, is a wonderful cook and has perfected the art of making truly the best French toast. It is slightly sweet, light and fluffy on the inside and golden and tender on the outside. It requires few ingredients, most of which are things you have on hand in the fridge and pantry. Plus, there’s not a lot of prep time and not many steps when making this dish, helping to make cleanup a cinch. His secret to this French toast is using day-old or slightly stale New Orleans-style French bread. Using this type of bread helps to ensure your French toast is light and fluffy every time. To round out this special Mother’s Day breakfast, I add a warm maple butter glaze as a finishing touch to the Frech toast, along with an easy recipe for praline-topped bacon. This simple and delicious breakfast menu is the perfect way to show the special people in your life how much you care.

Papa’s Fabulous French Toast with Maple Butter Glaze

Yield: 4 servings

4 eggs

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup whole or 2% milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 Tbsp. avocado oil, divided

3 Tbsp. butter, divided

12 (1½-in.) slices day-old New Orleans-style French bread

¼ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 170 to 200 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large shallow dish, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla until well blended and sugar has dissolved.

Place a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat, and melt 1 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. butter. While skillet heats up, working in batches, dip 4 slices of French bread into egg mixture until well coated on both sides.

Once butter has melted, place dipped bread slices into skillet. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until French toast is until golden on both sides. Transfer onto lined baking sheet and place in preheated oven to keep warm. Add more butter and oil to skillet as needed; repeat dipping and cooking remaining slices of French bread. Serve French toast warm and dusted with powdered sugar along with warm Maple Butter Glaze on the side to drizzle.

Maple Butter Glaze:

4 Tbsp. butter

1 cup pure maple syrup

1tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a small sauce pot over medium heat, heat butter until melted. Pour in maple syrup and vanilla extract, and heat through. Serve warm over French toast.

Easy Praline Bacon

Yield: 4 servings

½ cup chopped pecans

1⁄3 cup light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon Creole seasoning

8 slices center-cut bacon

Place chopped pecans in a mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and Creole seasoning; stir to combine.

Line a microwave-safe dish with paper towels; place 4 slices bacon on plate. Place second layer of paper towels over bacon; cook on high for 3 to 3½ minutes. Bacon should be cooked but not crisp.

While bacon is cooking, line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully remove bacon from microwave and place it on lined baking sheet. Place remaining 4 slices of uncooked bacon on plate with paper towels and cook in microwave for 3 minutes.

Place second batch of cooked bacon on baking sheet. Sprinkle all 8 bacon slices with brown sugar-pecan mixture. Cook bacon in preheated oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until bacon is crisp, sugar is melted and pecans are golden. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a platter to serve.

This article was originally published in the May 2026 issue of 225 Magazine.